Billiard table



Dec. 25, 1945. A. F. DEBICKI BILLIARD TABLE Filed June 5, 1942 ,4 Sheets-Sheet l I v INVENTOR. az/mz Meme/21;

Dec. 25, 1945.

A. F. DEBICKI BILLIARD TABLE Filed June 5, 1942 4 Shets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. I ag wd F1176 bet/21;

A. F. DEBICKI BILLIARD TABLE Dec. 25, 1945.

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 5 1942 4 INVENT'OR. Q/fred jjebzcfia Dec. 25, 1945.

A. F. DEBICKI BILLIARD TABLE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 5, 1942 m u w Ila INVENTOR U m I a Patented Dec. 25, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT or 1=;-1}C:1-:=

The Brunswick-Balka-Collender Company,

Chicago, 'Ill.,. a corporation of Delaware Application June 55, 1942, SerialNo. 445,839

# Giaims. (01. 273-6) This invention relates to billiard tables and it is particularly concerned with details of construction designed and devised. to facilitate and simplify the final erection of the table.

One object of the invention is to provide anew and improved billiard table structure particularly adapted to be manufactured in units which can be assembled in the field, that is, at the location at which the table is to be used. 4 v 7 Another object of the invention is to provide a billiard table structure in which certain unitsof the supporting base are arranged to be bolted togethenwhi-le additional units are adapted to be secured to the base structure by simple fastening means readily applied in the field without special tools or unusualskill.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a billiard table structure composed of units adapted to be prefabricated in the factory and to be assembled elsewhere and in which certain connections between the units are arranged with play or clearance so that slight inaccuracies in the manufacture shall not interfere with the successful assembly of the parts. I V

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide a billiard table structure in which fastening elements are provided at fixedlocationsin the edges ofthe slate bed of the table, while the rails which are to be attached to said bed, are formed with elongated openings to engage such elements; with accommodation forinaccuracies in their location, and in which pocket supportingironsare also provided with elongated openings to engage fastening means extending from the rails after they are so mounted on the slate bed. f

It is also an object of the invention to provide a table structure which can be conveniently assembledf in the field by first setting up a base comprising legs connected byend .panels and side panels and securing to such base the slate panels which constitute thetable bed, then adding prefabricated side rail assemblies which include the cushions and top rails, securing such assemblies to the slate panels, then connecting the side rail sections-by means of pocket-supporting irons,'and finally applying the apron members which conceal the side rails-and utilizing thebolts' or screws for all connections thus made in the erectmit of its being accomplished in the field;

4 final relative position to :eachother, ready for embodiments shown in the drawings and de- Other objects and advantages of the invention Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the legs ing process, so as to facilitate the same and'peralready-connected by sideandiendpanels' toform a base structure and showing the slate panels which form thetable bed with their under-frames in disassembled relation to thebase but ready for application thereto;

application to the table;

Figure! is-.a;perspective view of the aprons similarly arranged in their final relative positions to each other;

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a portion of one of the table legsand a portion of one side (panel disconnected therefrom but ready for assembly therewithcertain parts being broken awaypr showninsection; V

Figurefi is a detail cross-sectional view on a large scale, taken as indicated at -line-6-6' on: Figure 12, showing the side rail assembly together Witha portion of the apron andwith fastening means; securing theassembly to the slate and fastening means securing the apron to the side rail;

Figure 12 is aperspective view of the completediltable. n i

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications andalternative constructions, the

scribednhereinafter are :by way of preferred illustratiorr only and it is not intended. that the invention be 'limited'theretoor thereby; but it is theiihtention to cover all modifications and alter native constructions falling within the spirit-and sc'o'p'eof the invention as defined: by the appendedclaims. r i Heretoforeit has been the usual practice theimanufactureaof billiard tables tesubstantially o; complete the fabrication and assembly of the,

.Figure 7 is a detail section taken substantially the field or-by the customer himself and the means of assembly is such that, if necessary; the table can be easily taken apart and shipped to another point for re-erection if desired. Such a structure is particularly valuable for home use, since in many cases the basement playroom or other recreation room in which the table is to be set up has no doors or stairways large enough to accommodate a full size, fully assembled table, whereas the various sub-assemblies can be easily delivered to such'a room and then combined into the complete table.

As shown in Figure 1 the base structure of the table'consists of box-type legs I, which are connected byside panels 2 and end panels 3. Figure 5 shows blocks 4 which are nailed and glued into each leg at its upper end and which are drilled at 5 to receive fastening bolts-a threaded, flanged, tubular nut 6 being secured in the lower end of each of the bolt holes 5. Similar tubular nuts I are set in two vertical walls of the leg I. Figure '5 also shows one of the side panels 2 having block 8 permanently secured by nails and glued to its inner face at the end, with bolts 9 extending through the block 8 for engagement with the nuts 1 in the face of the leg I. The side panel assembly includes a reinforcing member ll secured along the lower edge of the side panel and a cap l2 secured to the upper edge extending outwardly from the outer face of the panel 2 and also extending beyond the end of the panel. The latter extending portion of the cap [2 is designed to rest upon the top of the leg I so that bolts [3 extending through the cap l2 may register with the nuts 6 in one of the blocks 4 of the leg for securing the cap firmly to the top of the leg.

' Each of the end panels 3 is substantially similar to the side panels 2, with caps I4 of the end panels resting upon the legs I and secured thereto by bolts 15, as indicated in Figure 1. Each end panel includes blocks I6, with bolts I'l extending therethrough into the adjacent legs I, and each end panel has a reinforcing member 18 along its lower edge.

Each of the legs is pre-fabricated at the factory and each of the side panel assemblies and end panel assemblies is similarly completed before shipment. Then the first step in the erection of the table consists in setting up the legs I on the floor in approximately their final positions and connecting them by bolting the side and end panels thereto.

The next step is to insert the cross-rails 20, which are shown in Figures 1 and 5 with their ends fitted into vertical grooves 2| in the side panels 2 and the caps l2, and resting upon pillow blocks 22 which are permanently fixed on the inner faces of the side panels. The cross-rails 20 are held in place by angle-brackets 23 connecting them to the side panel assembly.

The slate bed of the table is customarily made in three sections or panels 24 and each panel is provided with a wooden under-frame 25. Preferably the under-frames will be secured to the under surfaces of the slate panels at the factory and one of them is so shown in Figure '1; the other two are shown disassembled from their slate panels merely for the sake of more clearly illustrating their construction. Each slate panel is secured to its under-frame by screws 26 disposed adiacent the outer margin of the panel, considering their final position in the table; but the margins at the edges 21 which are to abut each other when positioned in the table are attached by fastening means extending upwardly into the slate from the under frames, but not piercing the slate so as to produce any breaks in its upper surface which is to provide the playing bed of the table. Such fastening means may be of the type shown in detail in Figure 2 which represents a fibre tube 28 inserted in a bore in the slate 24 and containing a quantity of lead 29 into which a wood screw 30 extends from the under-frame 25. The screw tends to expandthe lead as it cuts its own thread therein and thus slightly expands the tube 28, giving it a firm frictional grip on the slate.

With each Of the bed panels thus fitted with its own under-frame, the panels are lowered onto the base structure which is shown in Figure 1 ready to receive them. Holes 3|, previously drilled at the factory, to receive securing means for the panels, are utilized as guides for drilling registering holes in the caps I2 and I4, and long screws 32 set into these holes secure the bed panels to the base structure. The abutting marginal portions of the slate panels 24 with their underframes 25 rest upon the cross-rails 20 and are supported thereby. I

After the slate panels are thus placed in final position, the usual felt cover cloth 33 is applied over them and its marginal portions are secured to the underframes 25 by means of tacks, as seen at 34 in Figures 6 and 11.

As shown in Figure 3, the cushions 35 are provided in association with sectional side rails 36 commonly called blind rails and having secured to them the top rails 31. The blind rail sections 36 are supported by attachment to the slate panels 24 of the bed, and to provide for such attachment the edges of the panels are drilled at the factory to provide them with bores 38 extending inwardly from their outer edges-that is, those edges which formthe outlines'of the table bed as a whole. A threaded sleeve 39 is fitted snugly into each of the bores 38 and the screws 26 which connect the slate 24 to its underframe 25 intersects threadedtubes 39, thus anchoring the tubes in the slate. This arrangement is more fully described and is claimed in my Patent No. 2,333,709, dated November 9, 1943.

Bolts 40 extending through the blind rail 36 engage the threads of the tubes 39. These tubes thus serve as nuts for the bolts, whereby the bolts operate to clamp the blind rails 36 in position.

The cushions 35 and top rails 31, being permanently secured to the blind rails, are thus brought v for support.

7 I ass-nest longitudinally within limits permitted :by the length of theslots-M without zthez-necessity of'any special cutting .or-fitting of :the parts in the :field.

When all the rails, with theircushionassem bliesghave been mounted in position around the edges of the'table bedythe pocketscanbe -installed in the spaces between the rails; Eac-h pocket assembly includes a .pOCkGtiIQIlAE, such as that shown in perspective in FigureJIO, having a web portion 48, :lateral flange portions .411, and ears l-B by which .it is secured to the blindrails Figure 10 illustrates a supporting iron for .a side pocket and this is showninssec tion inJFigure .9, while Figure fishows .a corresponding sectional view which includes. the supporting iron 1415 for aicor-ner pocket. The-corner pocket iron differs. from theside pocket .iron only in that the ears :49 have the corner pocket support. extending obliquely from the side flanges .4] instead of at right angles as in the case. of the side pocket. 'Each'pocket' iron includes an arm llzextending upwardly from the web .4-5 :and

obliquely over the space. inswhich the'pocket itself .is carried. Figure Bushows .a portion of a. corner pocket 51, and Figure .9 shows a .portion of a side pocket 52', and it maybe understood that each of these. pockets, which are: preferably made of leather or like flexible material, ispartially supported by a tab which is attached .to the overhanging oblique arm 50 of the pocket iron. This arrangement is more fully shown and described in my Patent No. 2,314,774, dated March 23, 1943.

In erecting the table it will usually be most convenient to secure the inner and upward edges of the pockets in place by tacks driven into the.

in my said co-pencling application.

The ears 48 and 49 in the pocket irons are provided with elongated holes 53 for engagement with bolts 54 by which the irons are connected to the blind rails 35 crossing the gaps between adjacent ends of said rails. Preferably the blind rails 36 are provided with blocks 55, as shown in Figures 3, 8 and 9, permanently secured to their outer faces adjacent the ends of the rails, and the ears 48 or 49 of the pocket irons are secured against the faces of the blocks 55. Each blind rail is fitted with flanged, tubular nuts 56 extending into previously drilled holes in the rail and in the block 55, with their flanges entered. .through counter-bores 51 extending from the back of the rail. Thus the blind rails are prepared at the factory to receive the bolts 54 and any variation in the distance between bolts and adjacent nuts of the blind rails will be readily accommodated by the elongated holes or slots 53 in the ears of the pocket irons. Such variation may occur by reason of the adjustable mounting of the blind rails permitted by their slots 4|, but in the final assembly the parts will edge :of :the apron .60,;as1seen ini. Eigure; :6, .and the apronis supported in position Jby.=means Jot-Ta Z-ironi 63 secured to the underside :of the. blind rail:3fi.=by.a bolts-54 :and "bearing upwardly against a rib i &5 which is permanently .glued :and v nailed to :the :under :face of the:apron 16.0. 'Theend portions of the apron fill-areroverlappedbywings 58 of anpmamentalshield .5fl associated witheach of the pocket .irons: .and the lower ends .of' the wings'include horizontal flanges 58-11 which extend "under-the lower edges of the apron .60 .in its final position. This. makes :it necessary introduce. the .apron upwardly in a tilted position, as indicated in :brokenoutline in. Figure 1131, swinging it about. the bead 6.2 as a fulcrumato bring its lower edges above the 'bottom .flanges 58-11 of theavings 258. The aprons fill maybe routed out at 5B :for a's'hort distance adjacent each end to permit :the initial oblique. positioning of the aprons indicated 'iniFigure 11. Each of the bolts. F64 engages a tubular nut 61 set the blind rail: 36", the-rail being mortised at .$8 to provide for insertioncftthese nuts. TheLZ-bar 63-is slotted at 69 to permit adjustment of. the bar 63v to a final position, in which it" supports theweight of the apron and also holds the apron in .a verticalplane :and in snug engagement with the wings 58 of the ornamental pocket ircnsiso as to present a' neatand. pleasing appearance.

I claim; w

.1. .In. a billiard table, a hOHOW' leg structure which. includes four side. walls secured together atstheirezedgeszand blockspermanently securedi to the inner faces of two adjoining side walls flush with their upper edges said blocks having vertical bolt holes and threaded nuts secured in said holes, two adjoining sid walls having horizontal bolt holes with threaded nut elements secured therein, together with side and end panels, each including a panel portion and a cap rail secured to the upper edge thereof and extending beyond the end of the panel portion, the extending end of said cap rail having bolt holes positioned to register with thevertical holes in a leg block, and a block secured to the inner face of the panel portion flush with the end thereof and having horizontal bolt holes positioned to register with the horizontal holes in the wall of the leg.

2. In a billiard table, a blind rail, a top rail secured thereto and extending outwardly beyond the outer vertical face of the blind rail, an apron disposed with its upper'edge engaging the under side of the top rail, said apron having a downwardly facing shoulder on its inner face, and a supporting member fastened to the blind rail and extending outwardly therefrom under said shoulder to support the apron.

3. In a billiard table, a blind rail, a top rail secured thereto and extending outwardly beyond the outer vertical face or the blind rail, and having a longitudinal roove in its under surface, an apron having a bead on its upper edge engaged in said groove, said'apron having a downwardly facing shoulder on its irmer face, and a metallic support fastened 'to the under side of the blind rail and extending outwardly therefrom under said shoulder to uphold the apron with its bead in the groove of the top rail.

4. In a billiard table, a blind rail, atop rail secured thereto and extending outwardly beyond the outer vertical face of the blind rail; and having a longitudinal groove in its under surface, an apron having a bead on its upper edge engaged in said groove, said apron having a downwardly facing shoulder on its inner face, and a metallic arm fulcrumed at one end againstthe under side of the blind rail with its opposite end engaging said shoulder of the apron, together with a threaded member extending through an intermediate portion of said arm into thev under side of said rail and adjustable to press the arm upwardly against said shoulder of the apron.v

5. In a billiard table, a blind rail, a top rail secured thereto and extendin outwardly beyond the outer vertical face of the blind rail and having a longitudinal groove in its under surface, an apron having a bead on its upper edge engaged in said groove, said apron having a downwardly facing shoulder on its inner face, a pocket fixture attached to the blind rail and having a the outer end of said'arm bearing against the 5,

inner face of the apron and the arm being outwardly adjustable within the rangelof its slot for pressing the. apron outwardly into engagement with the wing of the pocket fixture.

6. In a pre-fabricated linock-down billiard table, leg units each having threaded bolt holes in two adjacent vertical faces and threaded bolt holes in a top face, end panels andv side panels having blocks flush with their ends with bolt holes tomatch those in the vertical faces of the legs and having cap rails extending to overlap the tops of the legs with bolt holes to match those in the top faces of the legs, bed panels with screw holes throughtheir marginal portions directly over said cap rails and with threaded holes in their exposed edges, and blind rails to be attached to'said edges of the bed with the ends of adjacent blind rails separated from each other to form pocket spaces, the end portions of said rails having threaded holes at fixed locations to receive fastening bolts for securing pocket irons bridging said spaces, and said rails having holes positioned to register approximately with the threaded holes in the bed and elongated longitudinally of the rails to compensate for the inaccurate location of the holes in the bed.

7. In a pre-fabricated knocked-down billiard table which includes a bed having threaded holes at intervals in its outwardly exposed edges, blind rails to be attached to said edges of the bed with the ends of adjacent blind rails separated from each other, to form pocket spaces, the end portions of said rails having threaded holes at fixed locations to receive fastening bolts for securing pocket irons bridging said spaces, said rails having holes positioned to register approximately with the threaded holes in the bed and elongated longitudinally of the rails to compensate for the in. accurate location of the holes in the bed.

ALFRED F. DE'BICKI. 

